Attachment for lifting invalids in and out of bathtubs



June 15, 1954 M. L. ROBINSON ,8

ATTACHMENT FOR LIFTING INVALIDS IN AND OUT OF BATHTUBS Filed 001;. 23,1951 INVENTOR MAUDIE I .ROBINSON ATTORNEYS Patented June 15, 1954 UNITEDSTATS i A'lENT OFFICE ATTACHMENT FGR LIFTING INVALIDS IN AND OUT OFBATHTUBS Maudie L. Robinson, Kenosha, Wis.

Application October 23, 1951, Serial No. 252,771

2 Claims. (01. 4-485) This invention appertains to a self-operatedinvalid lift, and has for its principal object the provision or" asimple and highly efficient device by means of which an invalid orpatient can lift and transport himself from a bed or wheelchair, andlower himself into and out of a bathtub or the like without outsideassistance and without injury or disturbance of the patients body.

In the handling or treating of prolonged illnesses of patients orinvalids, it is often necessary to raise the patient or invalid from hisbed, stretcher, or wheelchair, and to transport him or place him in abathtub. In general, the patient has to be moved by hand, necessitatingthe attendance of several persons, and in the case where the patient orinvalid suffers a serious illness or is relatively heavy, it may easilyhappen that injury or discomfort is caused to the patient or invalid. Inthe past, various mechanical means have been suggested for liftingpatients or invalids from their beds or wheelchairs, but such devicesare complicated, usually requiring an attendant, and are in generalinsuiiicient to insure simple mechanical operation thereof and completecomfort and safety to the patient or invalid.

Therefore, another important object of my invention i to provide adevice for supporting the invalid or patient while taking a bath, andallowing him to lower himself into a bathtub and out of the same withoutany outside assistance.

A further object of my invention is the provision of means for loweringa patient or invalid into a bathtub to any desired depth and raising himout of the tub, and to allow the moving of the support on which thepatient or invalid rests from his bedstead or wheelchair directly overth bathtub.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a self-operatedinvalid lift which includes a chair portion and a pivoted leg and footrest, the bottoms of which are provided with rollers so that when thechair portion and leg and foot rest are lowered into the tub, the legand foot rest may be pivoted to any desired position relative to thechair portion. A further object of my invention is to provide a simple,practical and reliable construction that is economical to manufacture,easy to assemble and positive in its operation.

With the above and other objects in view, which will more readily appearas the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consistsin the novel construction, combination and arrangements of partshereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved invalid liftillustrated in its position for use over a bath tub, and looking in thedirection of the arrows of line l-l of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the device, the view being takenon the line 2-2 of Figure l, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevational view in section, of the invalidsupport, the section being taken on the line 33 of Figure 2, and lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the invalid support, partly in section,clearly showing the seat and foot rest portions, the section being takenon the line d-4 of Figure 3, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a detailed section showing one of the supporting rollers,the section being taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3, and looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Figure 6 is a detailed sectional view showing in particular the pivotsupport for the leg and foot rest, the section being taken on the lineB-S of Figure 3, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar referencecharacters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,the letter A generally indicates my improved invalid lift which includesbroadly the invalid support l9, hoist H and track-way T. The track-way Tis positioned transversely across the bath tub B, and is in the form ofan I-beam it. This I- beam 1 i may be secured adjacent the ceiling of abathroom as illustrated, or it may be part of a movable or portableframe. The hoist H is movably supported on the I-beam by the provisionof two rollers l2 and it, which are fastened to the motor housing M ofthe hoist H in any desired manner.

The motor housing it contains any conventional type of hoist motor whichis provided with a hoisting cable is and a control cable it.

The invalid support l0 includes a chair portion I! and aleg and footrest portion is pivoted thereto. While the invalid support l0 may beconstructed of any desired material, in the preferred form it isconstructed primarily of steel tubing. The chair portion l'l has a seatl9 and 3 a back 29 made from one continuous length of tubing, which issuitably covered with any type of material as shown. Arm rest 2| may ormay not be provided if desired.

The chair portion I! is supported in its upright position to the hoistcable 15 by means of a novel triangular shaped supporting link 22, theapex of each angle being enlarged as shown. The cable 15 is secured tothe upper enlarged portion 23,

and the lower enlarged portion 2d of link 22 is provided with a ring 25to which is secured two supporting cables 25 and 21. The outer enlargedportion 28 of the link 22 has secured thereto cable 29. The back 26 ofthe chair portion 11 is provided with upstanding eyes 3|] and 3|, towhich the respective ends of the cables 26 and 21 are secured. Cable 29,by means of snap hook 32, is fastened to an upstanding eye '33 which iswelded or otherwise secured to the forward tubing section 3d of the seat[9.

The under corners of the seat portion are each provided with a pair ofdownwardly extending ears. The forward ears 35 form a pivoted supportfor the leg and foot rest portion l3, and

the rear cars 36 form a support for the rubber :1.

formed from a continuous U-shaped length of tubing 2, each leg of whichis flattened at its upper end 63, and it is through this flattenedportion 43 that the pivot bolt 4| extends. The fiattened portion 43 alsoextends rearwardly and its upper surface rests against the lower surfaceof the tubing 38 at ee, to hold the leg and foot rest is in-the positionillustrated by the full lines of Figure 1 and Figure 3. The foot rest 45may be made of wood or rubber composition, and is fastened to the tubing42 by means of screws 65, as shown in particular in Figure 4.

In using the lift, the invalid or patient lowers the support intoposition next to his bed or wheelchair by manipulating the control cableit, which operates the hoist. After he has seated himself properly inthe device, he then fastens cable 29 to the upstanding eye 33, andraises himself to the desired height by again actuating control cableIt. He may then hand-propel himself along the I-beam it until he is in aposition'over the bath tub as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Here heagain actuates the control cable is and lowers himself from the fullline position (Figure 1) to the dotted line position.

It is to be noted that the hoist motor is of a very sensitive type, andvery fine adjustments may be made by proper manipulation of the controlcable 55. The patient or invalid may lower himself to any depth in thetub and be firmly'supported in that position. If, however, he desires toremove some of the strain from the hoist motor, he may lower himselfalmost completely into the tub as shown by the dotted lines of Figure 1.and in so doing, the rollers 37, 39 will touch the 4 tub bottom and thefoot rest will pivot upwardly. If it becomes necessary, the entireinvalid support 10 may rest upon the tub bottom, and in this positionthe flattened portions 43 of the leg and foot rest will provide a thirdpoint of support on the bottom of the tub.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the features and advantages ofthe invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, andit will, of course, be understood that changes in the form, proportionminor details of construction may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for hoisting invalids into and out of a bath tub ofthe type having a transverse supporting frame, a hoisting mechanism freeto travel thereon, a hoisting cable associated with the hoistingmechanism, and a control cable for operating the hoist; an invalidsupport in three-pointsuspension with said hoist cable, said invalidsupport including a chair portion having a covered seat and back formedfrom a continuous length of steel tubing and a U-shaped length of steeltubing forming a hinged leg and foot rest, a pair of rollers secured tothe under surface of said chair portion, a pair of rollers secured tothe under'surface of leg and foot rest, and means including flattenedextensions of said leg and foot rest for limiting the pivotal are ofswing of the leg and foot rest.

2. in an apparatus for hoisting invalids into and out of a bath tub ofthe type having a transverse srpporting frame, a hoisting mechanism freeto travel thereon, a hoist cable associated witi'i the hoistingmechanism, and control cable for operating the hoist; an invalid supportin three-p t suspension with hoist cable, said invalid support includinga back section, a seat section and a leg and foot rest pivotedly securedto forward portion of seat section, a triangular link suspended betweenhoist cable and said invalid support, a of cables-secured to the sectionof the invalid support'and extending convergingly upward and secured tosaid triangular link, said triangular link being so constructed andarranged that all of its legs lie in the same vertical plane with itslower leg extending horizontally from a point in alignment with the backsection of the invalid support to a point toward the forward end of saidseat section, said converging cables being secured to the inner end ofsaid lower leg, a cable secured at one end to the forward end of saidseat section and having its other secured to the outer end of said lowerleg of the triangular link, and a series of rollers secured to the undersurface .of said seat section and said leg and foot rest.

References (Jited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date 235,665 Peck Sept. 25, 1883 518,751 Chambers Apr. '24,-1894 842,276 Traver Jan. 29, 1&0? 924,17? Moore June's, i909 Winter Jan.30, 1945 2,562,598 Brown July 31. 1951

